Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Before releasing Collected Mashups Vol. 4, I had produced a few videos for selected singles off the album, and somebody else did one as well. Some of them have become relatively popular. In the meantime, particularly since Sebwax's exclusive album feature on French radio, I've produced several other new videos and there are even more in the pipeline.

This is a good opportunity to feature four of five of them at a time in a series of blog posts, organized by genre, and without specific regard to chronology. This is the hip-hop edition. Let's begin!

This is the most recent video to date, released on April 12, 2015. Like all the others in this series the original audio mashup was produced in 2009, this one a week or two after Michael Jackson's death. The audio blends the acapella from the Naughty By Nature remix of "Scream" (including a rap by Treach) with Buffalo Springfield's seminal sixties folk-rock hit "For What It's Worth," and heavy breakbeat interventions on the refrains sampled from Public Enemy's "Bring The Noise" and "Rebel Without A Pause." I think I may have used P.E.'s Buffalo Springfield-sampling "He Got Game" for the main loop, adding another beat from KRS-One's "You Must Learn" as support on the verses, but as I recall, this was made mostly from scratch. The video of course borrows heavily from the original Jacko/Janet joint, which I didn't want to mess with much, since it was pretty awesome back in 1995, and I think still is.2. Mobb Deep vs. Wu-Tang Clan vs. Kool & The Gang: Kool Shook C.R.E.A.M.

Featuring two of my favorite mid-90s hip-hop groups (Mobb Deep & Wu-Tang Clan) and the jazz-funk grooves of the 70s formation of Kool & The Gang, the mashup itself used strictly vinyl sources and was produced as a throw-back to my early work. This video was produced by Jason Patrick Chavez.3. Faith No More vs. Queens Of The Stone Age: Epic Wit Chu

Faith No More's cross-over rock-rap from 1989/90 blended with a desert rock ballad from 2007 by Queens Of The Stone Age. Cycling home this evening, the strains of FNM's "Epic" hit me out of an open car window, and there was a much younger person at the wheel. I gave him the thumbs-up and he nodded. This mashup is so simple, yet utterly compelling. I consider it to be one of my best works.4. Birdman & Lil Wayne vs. Muse featuring Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche: 100 Million Butterflies

This video is another very recent one I made (published on March 29, 2015) with the main vocals supplied by Matthew Bellamy of the English pop/prog-rock group, Muse ("Butterflies and Hurricanes") supported by the instrumental of Birdman's "100 Million Dollars," Lil Wayne's very Dirty South rap from the same tune, and spoken extras by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa.5. Dead Prez vs. Eastenders: Vino Hip Vino Hop

I've blogged this one before (the original audio blend is actually off Collected Mashups Vol. 3), but I posted this video and remastered audio version for the Sleeper Album. While the audio blends the acapella from the classic "Hip Hop" by Dead Prez with a remix (by Bassface Sascha & Franksen) of German beatmakers, Eastenders, the video is lifted almost entirely from the Dead Prez original.That's all for now. Stay tuned for the next edition - an electronic music special, or just check out and/or subscribe to my Youtube and/or Vimeo channels to get all my new stuff immediately. Or just check my Twitter or Facebook page to receive the latest news.Love,DJ not-I